Clinton Township woman snares piranha-looking fish in Lake St. Clair

Holley Luft holds her 14-inch pacu as she is joined by husband, Tom, and her son Bradly. Tom and Holley Luft were fishing in Lake St. Clair last week she she pulled in the piranha-looking fish. MITCH HOTTS -- THE MACOMB DAILY

This photo of the pacu before it was frozen was provided by the Luft family.

When it comes to fish tales, Holley Luft of Clinton Township has proof of the one that didn’t get away -- a fish with teeth that she snared in Lake St. Clair.

Luft and her husband, Tom, were fishing at Waterfront Park on Jefferson Avenue near Shook Road in Harrison Township about 9 p.m. July 9 when she pulled in what appeared to be a piranha. It turned out to be a South American pacu, which experts say is a cousin to the piranha.

“When I reeled it in, I thought ‘What kind of crazy fish is this,’” Luft said Monday evening at her home. “It freaked me out because it just looked unbelievable.”

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Tom Luft agreed.

“I’ve caught a lot of fish in my life, but nothing like this,” he said. “This is like once in a lifetime.”

The couple brought the fish to a worker at the park, who notified the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and sent them emailed photos of the fish.

Jim Francis, the Lake Erie Basin Coordinator for the DNR’s fisheries division, said experts have identified it as a pacu, which is an omnivorous freshwater fish that does in fact have teeth. He said pacus do not pose a threat to humans and use the teeth to eat seeds and nuts that fall into the water.

“Most likely, someone had it as a pet and it typically gets too big for an aquarium to they released it into the wild,” he said. “They are a little intimidating looking.”

Photographs of the fish were sent to the University of Michigan museum for further analysis, but the 14-inch, 2-pound fish remains with the Lufts, who have it frozen in a cooler.

Holly Luft said she caught the pacu with a catfish harness and night crawlers. She was surprised it went for the worm.

It’s not the first unusual thing the family has caught. Holley has caught a mudpuppy in the past and son Bradly caught an American eel in the Clinton River off South River Road.